PITTSFIELD, Mass. —  A man who came to argue with protesters on Thursday for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza left with a better understanding of their position. 

 

"That guy came basically supporting Israel, and saying that Israelis have a right to defend themselves, and basically supporting the American policy position. By the end of that conversation. He was saying, war is not the answer," one of the organizers, Tamir Novotny, said. 

 

Novotny told the man that a stop to the war starts with the United States government calling for a ceasefire. 

 

"He was more aligned with us than he realized when he first came," Novotny said.

 

The reason for this is because "people don't realize the extent to which we've internalized Israeli propaganda talking points, U.S. rightwing propaganda talking points, American Israel Public Affairs Committee talking points, and haven't actually looked at them critically," he said.

 

"We need things like this to get people to start thinking about why they believe what they believe. People have the right to believe what they believe, but we got to think it through. We got to check our sources and see where our information is coming from."

 

Community members gathered outside U.S. Rep. Richard Neal's office urging him to advocate for sanctions with the hope of encouraging a ceasefire. The congressman was not there.

 

Hamas' attacks on Israel have been condemned by human rights experts, political theorists, and Western countries. The United States has been one of Israel's closest allies for decades, providing aid in the form of equipment, weapons, and military and economic aid, amounting to more than $260 billion. 

 

Although the United States has condemned the actions of Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, it has declined to sanction Israel for its attacks against Gaza. Hamas, which has controlled Gaza for nearly two decades, launched an attack over the Israeli border on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 people. Israel responded by bombarding Gaza and killing and injuring thousands.

 

"We want our voices to be heard. We want our representative Richard Neal to know that we are watching what he's doing," one of the organizers, Mohamad Junaid, said. 

 

"We are watching that he's not representing the county fully, that there is a lot of his constituents who live here, who do not agree with his deflection and not wanting to call for a ceasefire." 

 

The protestors want to know why the word "ceasefire" is taboo in Congress, he said. 

 

"This is the most ethical thing to do. This is the first step before we can think about long-term solutions for the people in that region," Junaid said. 

 

The protest formed from residents feeling hopeless, isolated, and desperate to have their voices heard, Novotny said 

 

"We realize we're only hopeless because we're isolated," he said. 

 

They describe themselves as a "multiracial," "interfaith," and "multigenerational" group who came together in "solidarity with Palestinians, and the belief that all lives have equal value, and that what's happening in Palestine right now is a genocide and it has to stop," Novotny said. 

 

One of the organizers, Farah Momen, said, "our systems are designed to make you feel small" and "powerless. We are not. That is why it's important we educate ourselves."

 

These protesters decided they will not tolerate "the decisions and the blood that are on the hands of this country," she said. 

 

"Individual actions actually do matter. Conversations you have with your family members and friends do matter. Showing up to a protest matters," Momen said. 

 

"All of these things in isolation can feel futile, but it's actually the collective action of us all choosing to do that [which] will make a difference and it has made a difference in the past. This is not a hypothetical. This is what works in justice movements."

 

Throughout history the combination of small moments and individual voices come together to facilitate change, Novotny said. 

 

"History will remember what we do right here right now. They may not remember me. They may not remember you, but they will remember us," he said. 

 

Tension between Israel and Palestine has been going on for generations, dating back to the early 1900. 

 

Despite ongoing violence, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have taken place over the years.

 

The United Nation Partition Plan in 1947 split Palestine roughly in half. The War of 1948  resulted in Israel controlling the majority of land in historic Palestine; further wars and actions on both sides have reduced Palestinian areas to Gaza and the West Bank. 

 

"Since 1948, we have seen a process of continuing dispossession of Palestinians from their country from their lands to make space for new arrivals from Europe," Junaid said.

 

"We need to recognize that the roots of this problem lie in the history of anti-Semitism in Europe, the history of pogroms in Europe, the Holocaust in Europe, and the Palestinians have had to bear the price for the crime that Europeans committed against the Jewish people." 

 

Despite what has been reported by media outlets "this is not a religious conflict. This is not a conflict between Muslims and Jews … this is a conflict that has been caused by colonization, colonial mentality, coloniality of power, and a history of genocide," Junaid said. 

 

"[The] American government needs to stop funding this ideology. It needs to stop weaponizing the pain of one people to dispossess another so that's why we are here. We are an interreligious diverse group of residents of this county. We want our voices to be heard." 

 

This war can not continue. It is the continuation of the long process of "deflecting the guilt onto another people," Junaid said.

 

There needs to be a resolution and the first step to that is a ceasefire. The thought on what the best long-term solution can not be had in the midst of atrocity and the violation of international human law," Momen said. 

 

"We need a resolution. We need a long-term resolution of this problem, a resolution that will allow both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security and mutually Thrive next to each other," Junaid said in agreement.